Unions - from Bill Freeman's book -1005: Political Life in a Local Union

"'The strength of Local 1005 is that for years there have been stubborn and bullheaded men who have devoted their time and risked their jobs for their fellow workers.  That's what makes a union.  You know you've got to give it to the old-timers.  They fought for us all.  They made it happen.  They know that we stand for something in the trade union movement--- that we've got a history behind us, and that's important. From a 1005 activist.'

It was in 1945 that Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers of America became the official bargaining agent for the hourly rated employees at the Hamilton Works of the Steel Company of Canada, but this union local did not emerge on the scene fully grown, ready to defend the rights of the company's employees.  In part it was the result of the conscious struggles of the workers int he plant going back at least 35 years.  It was also the result of a broader class struggle that emerged in Canada as the country rapidly industrialized int he latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. 

After it's creation in 1901, U.S. Steel controlled 3/5ths of the whole American industry and was the world's first billion dollar corporation.  Union organization in the Hamilton Steel and Iron Company prior to the Stelco merger of 1910 was slow and strongly resisted by management.  Years later, Tom McClure, a one-time president of Local 1005 wrote:

'As far as can be learned, organization in the early days of the plant was more or less of a spontaneous nature.... The rolling men and puddlers were paid on a sliding scale based on the average of the production over the previous sixty day period.  Sometimes a steep increase in the selling price of steel was not reflected int he pay envelope.  Tongs were banged, the whistle blown, the mill stopped rolling, the men marched to the office, and as a general rule, the appropriate changes were made in the rates of pay.  An exception to the rule occurred in 1906 when a short strike resulted in the upward adjustment of rates of pay called for by a sharp rise in the selling price.  the strikers were told that it was not necessary for them to organize into a union to be certain of getting their just due.'  

This description shows a type of direct rank-and-file militancy.  Whenever there was a grievance, "the tongs were banged, the whistle blown, the mill stopped rolling, the men marched tot he office."  Its success depended on a shop floor solidarity among the workers that could not be ignored by the company, rather than on an established relationship between the two parties. After the Stelco merger of 1910 - see Glory Days history - the company was in an excellent position to control its markets.

The year 1919 was a time of radical union activity in Canada.  As Stuart Jamieson points out, "One of the most important factors underlying the mounting unrest of the late war (World War I) and immediate post war years was the inflationary price spiral.  The cost of living jumped by 8% in 1916 and escalated to 13 1/2 % in 1918."  But wages had inflated very slowly. On September 22, 1919, 365,000 American steelworkers went on strike in fifty cities across America. Mills were kept open by black and Mexican strikebreakers.  David Brody commented, "Nothing weakened the resolve of weary strikers more than the sight of smoke rising from the mills, and the sound of whistles announcing the change of the shift."  Men drifted back to work,and finally, in January,t he union admitted defeat. It was during this bitter struggle that unionization finally began at Stelco. 
Working conditions in Stelco's Hamilton mills remained grim.  Ten and twelve hour days were the rule, heavy labour was a common feature of many of the jobs, the heat in some of the mills was difficult to bear, and safety features were almost non existence. 

With the beginning of the Depression in 1929 and 1930, the Amalgamated Association began to lose support.  As the price of steel became lower, the sliding scale of wages sank with it, and the Western Sheet and Tin Producers forced the AA to accept even lower rates.  Stelco allowed wages to sink in the sheet mill to the lowest level in years.   As a result of the Depression and low wages, lost jobs, the Stelco sheet mill workers allowed their charter to lapse on October 4, 1932. 

Wages for Stelco workers sank even further.  No one in the sheet mill was now a member of the union, so they did not receive the AA journal to check their wages against the scale.  It was some time before the news reached them that the rate of pay Stelco was giving them was lower than the scale.  

The Local 1005 was started again in 1934, but initially very little was accomplished.  Meetings were poorly attended, and the company ignored the new union.  Following the 1935 strike, Stelco announced the Employee Representation Plan.  The plan called for the establishment of a works council made up of ten employees elected by secret ballot from each of the plant's divisions and of ten company appointees. The chairman and secretary were provided by the company.  The council would meet monthly, and any issue could be discussed that was brought forward by the representatives.  Appeals could be referred to the president of the company, whose decision would be final."